Moises Caicedo made a dramatic U-turn on Liverpool in the summer transfer window, as the Brighton star ultimately decided to join Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea
Meanwhile, Liverpool promptly turned to Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo, buying him from German side Stuttgart for just £15.4m, adding to their earlier midfield signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. The Reds are now top of the Premier League table and remain in the hunt for four trophies, so it’s understandable why Klopp – in his final season with the club – feels vindicated.
We found Wataru, we already knew Macca could play the position and Dom was always on my radar,” the Liverpool manager explained on Tuesday. “If one of the £100m (signings) had worked, there’s no chance to do another. That’s what I meant when I said we are so lucky. Everything in the ‘if not scenario’ worked out.”
In December, Klopp jovially told fans during a test event for the club’s expanded Anfield Road End stand: “The summer we had, we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market but here, between us, I can say, ‘My god, were we lucky, eh?’
“We didn’t know that in that moment and it didn’t feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I’m really happy that it worked out, but you never know before.”
Caicedo wasn’t the only midfielder who the Reds missed out on to Chelsea either, as Belgian starlet Romeo Lavia ended up in West London after multiple bids from Liverpool. Lavia, 20, has had a nightmare with injuries and only played 32 minutes since leaving Southampton.
